Chasing Ghosts
by Daydreamer 1994am
Summary: The story of a girl leading up to her painful decision. The choice between the love of her best friend or of the love she dreams of. A retelling of Toradora!.
1. My New Day

_Preface_

_This story is a retelling of Toradora! as well as an attempt to give Minori a more developed character and explore the ties of Taiga, Ryuuji, and herself. Minori x Ryuuji. The time line of this story will start from the beginning of the anime Toradora! to the end focusing on Minori, Taiga, and Ryuuji. Not all events of the anime will be covered in this story and certain events/facts may not be true to the anime and/or may be created to aid plot development. The story is told in 1__st__ person from the perspective of Kushieda Minori. Additional chapters known as X chapters may be written to provide a view from another character's perspective within that respective chapter. The information gathered to create this fanfiction originates from the anime Toradora!, the wiki site for the anime, and the english patch of the Toradora! Portable viewable on the youtube channel Visual Novel found at channel/UCOf7zmftYkadR3-HqJ0h4dA/videos . _

_I have not read the manga or the light novel of Toradora! and it has no influence on this story. I do not own Toradora! or any of the sources listed prior. All chapters will be written in full feature length similar to an adult novel; as such there is no set schedule for upcoming chapters although it is intended that the story will be updated monthly. This is an ongoing project and helpful criticism and feedback is very much appreciated. Please enjoy._

_*NOTICE* The school system in this fanfiction is based on an American school system and not a Japanese one. While not authentic to the show or culture in that respect it is related to the overall plot of the story. In this story Minori has no knowledge of her classmates going into a new school year; in a Japanese school she would. Minori has a 3 month time frame in which she has not been involved with her friends at school. __This provides a story that would not otherwise be told in a true authentic setting. _I apologize if this may upset some readers, but I believe the lore of the anime remains intact in this retelling. With that in mind, I ask that you continue reading and enjoy my take on the Toradora! universe.

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Chapter 1: New Days, New Endeavors

*BEEP * *BEEP* *BEEP*

"...eh?"

*BEEP* *BEEP* *BEEP*

I try to force my eyes open to make sense of what just woke me up from bed. I turn my head to face my alarm clock that reads 5:30am. Strange, it shouldn't be ringing this early. It's not time for me to get up and get ready for work. What day is it today? Yesterday I had preseason softball practice. We got off pretty late... that's not important. So that means today's Monday? Ok, Monday work schedule...

*BEEP* *BEEP* *BEEP*

It's getting difficult to think with me wanting to go back to bed and that loud alarm going off. Monday... I don't go to Jonny's until 5 for the night shift. In the morning I wake up at 8am to get ready to work at the Liquor with Inage-san. So why is the alarm...? Oh right right. I rescheduled with him a few days ago to work on Wednesdays at 4. He asked me why and I told him that...

*BEEP* *BEEP* *BEEP*

"...EEHHH!? The opening ceremony at school! I have to be there early to meet up with the softball team! I have to see what my homeroom is and oh! I promised Taiga I'd te-" I sat up as fast as I could and slammed the alarm clock halfway through my panicked outburst.

*BEE-* *THUD*

"Oww! That hurt!" I gripped my hand gently, fully awake from the shock of both the pain and of the forgotten school day. "Gosh, how did I not remember it as soon as the alarm rung? Minori you're such an idiot! Getting lazy and relying on your habits instead of thinking clearly!" I frantically begin my usual routine to get started for school.

On every other day I would've been on top of things. The morning shower, hair, do the bed, clothes, fruit for breakfast, it's all been engraved in my mind every since I moved into this little two room condo.

"Ok clothes... my uniform! Where did I put that thing? Umm... I put it someplace where I could easily grab it for today, that much I remember. Let's see..." I glance around my closet and then race my eyes across my bedroom to figure out where genius me could have put it. I see a hangar hanged at the top of my door, remembering myself proudly putting it there so I wouldn't forget. I felt my face turn red slightly.

*snatch*

"Geesh, there's no time to get embarrassed over yourself! Hurry up Minori! Ignore it! Move forward!"

After breakfast I get my things, take out the trash if there is any, I swing by the convenience store and grab a boxed lunch and coffee; ah coffee, my lifesaver, then I head to wor-, no not work, school. It was surprising just how reliant I was on my routine. I understood that working more jobs over the break would take its toll on me somehow, but I didn't expect my conscious to revolve around it. But it was alright. It wasn't important to worry about small things like that. What was more important was the fact that I was about to head out the door as an emotional wreck. I wasn't going to let my feelings bring everyone down around me. I never have and today was certainly not going to be the start. I devour my diet apple and look at my clock.

It was 6:03; the softball meeting starts at 6:30 which gave me time to grab some food at the convenience store and still make it in time for everything. Taiga doesn't come to school that early and will be there around 7:00 for the opening ceremony knowing her. We haven't kept up with each other over spring vacation as much as I would have liked because of the amount of jobs I took, so I was going to text her a "Happy New School Year! May our young lives live the glory that is the High School frontier!" message. If there was anyone I would want to see happy first it would be her. I make up my mind to text her after the convenience store and prepare to walk out.

"Ok Minori, deep breaths. In and out, in and out. 1 and 2 and... go! Fight on! The one shot KO that the crowd seeks will be a reality!" It was a tad bit embarrassing to have to say that to myself. Usually I would be able to recite something like that in my head to prepare my zeal rather than blurt it out like a moron, but today was a different case. With the disaster that was this morning my emotions were getting the best of me, and saying something that ridiculous was the only thing I thought to hold it down. Fired up and ready to go, I walk out and go to my local corner store. As I walk in, I prepare myself for the first real conversation of the day. The chime of the door opening was my signal to start being the usual me.

"Ah, Kushieda-san. You're here bright and early this morning." The store clerk greeted me as soon as he saw me. He's gotten to know me pretty well, with me being one his most frequent customers.

"Good morning, shopkeeper! How goes the business today?" I cheeringly ask with a great smile.

"Oh wow, always so full of energy even this early in the morning. The day just started and your my first customer! What kind of question is that?" His response had a greater enthusiasm than before, and it looks like he's a bit happier. Alright, it's going good so far.

"Yeah I guess you're right, kind of a silly question wasn't it?" I put in as much effort to be jokingly embarrassed as possible.

"Yes it was! Besides, with the way you visit my shop I'll always stay open! Anyway, will it be the usual lunch and coffee for you this morning?" The happiness in his voice was relieving on me. I began to use his energy to keep mine up.

"Yes sir! One small discount coffee and a random diet box lunch please with the greatest of sincerity!" I say while saluting him in an outgoing fashion.

"Coming right up! By the way Kushieda-san, I assume by your uniform that this is the start of a new school year for you. Remember to live out your youth to its fullest young lady! But of course, I don't need to tell you that now do I? The jolliness in his voice followed by a chuckle of good cheer lifted up my spirits even higher. High enough to the point where the feelings of this morning were masked if not gone. Good job Minori, keep at it!

"Of course! To be young is to have the fuel of life in your lungs! The fuel to fight, be triumphant and work hard! To let it slip by would be missing the opportunity of a life time!" I proudly raise my fist up high and make sure my body is just as exuberant as the words I say.

"Well said! Here you are Kushieda-san. Keep up that fighting spirit and keep spreading that good cheer!" We exchange goods and money and I start to walk to the door.

"Roger, oh great shopkeep! May fortune follow you and your merchandise!" By this point I've reached the point where I think I can keep this up throughout the day, even if it is the new school year. I wave and smile using the good side of me I've built up since I moved here.

"Thank you Kushieda-san! See you tomorrow!"

"Right back at ya!" And with that I was out and on the route to school. With the exchange I had at the convenience store I was confident that my emotions wouldn't come crashing out, and I would be able to keep up the excitement to make everyone happy and make this a good day.

In good spirits, I drink my coffee in one hand and text Taiga the message I had planned in the other. No one at school knew I drank coffee and I didn't want them to know I did. I knew it was strange to be embarrassed about something as meaningless as that, but I didn't want anyone to think I relied on it, even though I did. It was rare when I got a proper nights rest with the way my schedule was, and coffee gave me the kick to push myself until I could get home and drop my guard. It also made being the me everyone liked easier; the energy from drinking it made being cheerful more natural, at least to me it did. I finish my coffee quickly and finish texting Taiga as I pass by the garbage bin that I usually toss my plastic coffee cup in. Afterward, I turn the corner off the split where Taiga and I usually meet and I head off down the path to school.

"Alright Minori remember, first impressions are everything. You're going to meet plenty of new people and you're not going to be stupid. You're going to be outgoing and fun to be around and everyone will be happy and this will be a great year." I say this and similar phrases to myself over and over as I walk down the street. Starting from square one with a new class and new people was a big deal. New people meant more eyes on me, thinking about the type of person I am. I had to be bright as possible when I first met them to give off a good vibe and make it easier to talk to everyone.

*Bzzzt*

I felt my cellphone go off and happily knew without a doubt Taiga responded. She likes to sleep in a lot, but she cares enough about me to respond even when I have the tenacity to message her so early. Although I don't think she would expect any less of me. She's known me as the vocal oddball ever since we first met. To be something different than that would mean me threatening our friendship. I wasn't going to let that happen in a million years. I flip my cellphone open to see how she responded.

"Sorry Minorin, but I'm going to be late for school. I think I caught a cold so I'm going to miss the opening ceremony. Go ahead after you find out where your class is. We can meet up at lunch."

Seeing that message instantly brought me down. Knowing that I wouldn't meet my best friend after we had been apart for the break was disheartening, and on top of that she was sick. I then thought about just how easily my emotions got to me and shook my head in defiance. I wasn't a weak girl who let my feelings get the best of me. I responded quickly.

" Eh!? You're sick Taiga!? Are you ok!? Do you need emergency attention!? Do you want me to come over with the medical department and nurture you back to health!?" Obviously I knew that wasn't going to happen. She got back to me within a few minutes.

"I'm ok Minorin, don't worry. Go on and get to school." Taiga wasn't the type of girl to send fancy texts. Knowing that I took her advice and did just that.

"OK! Get well Taiga and let's enjoy our first day of high school together today!" It was important that she knew I still treasured her even though the distance between us grew. I wouldn't want her to see me as someone who just abandoned her. A part of me already believed that. But in any case I knew that things would work out and we'd still be the greatest of friends.

I look up the time on my cellphone that read 6:24. It would be another 10 minutes until I reach the school gates, then I would meet up with my softball team at 6:40, and then the opening ceremony would start at 7. I sigh a breath of relief knowing that the day was lined up for me and I somehow managed to make it up to this point. I do my best to calm myself and act as natural as possible. I knew that as long as I could keep being the usual me then this day would go by smoothly. Even with all the new people, even if I might not have some people I might know in my class, if I just rely on making everyone smile instead of on my awkward self, things will be fine. Just got to do what I always do. Time sped away as I self motivated myself and I found myself at the school gates.

"Alright Minori, fight on!" I say one last enthusiastic sentence in my thoughts and prepare for the fresh start of a new school year.

It was relieving to see I could be the energetic Minori everyone expected without any trouble at all. Everything from my body coordination, to my emphasis on certain words to exaggerate the sentence, and even my goofy smile all seemed to flow naturally. It was second nature; I didn't think about it. My body must have gotten used to keeping up the happy display around others, or something like that I guess. I've been this way around people for so long that I can't really imagine being any other way around them. Everyone from old acquaintances, to my softball team, to even just students making their way to ceremony. All of them had smiles on their faces and were easy to get along with. It was one thing to keep it up around people like my softball team who already knew the type of person I was. It was another to keep it up while talking to a freshman who didn't know me in the slightest. To know that the social side of me was so strong that I could depend on it without fail made me really happy. To be able to know that I could make others have others have a good time, to know that I could always do something for them, there wasn't any other feeling like it. What could be better than the happiness of the people your with? It was clear to me there wasn't anything else. And to be able to talk like this made that happen. It was better knowing that my joy didn't come from me or my own selfish wants, but directly from others. It was definitely the way things should be. The best breaks always come from working your hardest.

The morning seemed to fly by with me in a sort of auto pilot. With the feelings of this morning gone or masked to perfection, my cheery attitude carried me until I was able to see what my class was after the opening ceremony. I spent more time talking with my softball team then I should have; I would have rather had my entire class be my team to save a lot of effort in making new friends. But as my teammates went their separate ways to make it in time for class reality hit me, and I began walking towards the homeroom charts. There were only a handful of people hanging around here unlike how it was when I first walked in to school. The amount of new and returning students that were here before was frightening. I remembered seeing plenty of groups of friends enjoying finding their classes together . The thought of Taiga then came to my mind and the idea that I could have been like one of those pairs of best friends enjoying a high school tradition. I breathe a sigh of emotion and quickly brush aside my thinking. I knew the more I thought about things like that the more likely it was I would screw up and let it show. Glancing at the second year classes I could see my name fall under class "2-C". With that knowledge in mind I head towards the main school building and prepare for the greatest challenge today, making a good impression among all of my new classmates. A part of me told myself that everything had been fine so far and I'd easily get along with everyone. Another part of me told me that I could easily screw this up if I was a dimwit and did something stupid. To avoid bickering with myself any further and making me more tense, I thought it best not to think at all and keep up what I've been doing all this morning. It was working so far, and I knew it was the only thing that would work in this hectic time.

"Ok Minori, when you first say hello to your classmates you need to say something after. Can you make a joke? Maybe a weird posture, a dance maybe? No no, you're over complicating things." It was easy to see that my not thinking strategy had failed as soon as I was walking down the hallway to class. "I have to go back to the basics. Be happy and have a great smile, introduce yourself in the most friendly way possible and-" I cut myself off mid thought to happily see a familiar face standing beside the 2-C classroom door. I rush forward to greet him on instinct.

"Yo, Kitamura-kun!" I happily say without a problem. I knew Kitamura the year before as the captain for the boy's softball team. Often sharing the same field on the same days and having leadership over our respective teams as captains, we found common ground and have gotten to know each other pretty well. He's a well known and popular student here, as well as the vice president of the student council. He has an average body size for a male and wears glasses, which doesn't hint at the fact that he is one of the most, if not the most fit member of the male softball team. This combined with a gentle and caring attitude has surprised me that he hasn't been in a relationship, or at least as far as I know. He used to be more reserved when I first met him, but he's obtained his own style of charisma that he shows when he's fired up. A part of me has to think that came from being around me so much. "Are we in the same class together this year too?"

"Oh, Kushieda. You're in class 2-C as well?" It was comforting to find out that a well known friend of mine was in the same class as me. Before I had thought I had to work my way from nothing to make some friends, but now I knew I had someone I could talk and have a good time without having to build a foundation with first. I noticed there was another person glancing at me right beside Kitamura, who I then realize must have been talking to him before I came into the picture. Not wanting to be rude, I knew I had to introduce myself to him as well. Once I got a good look at him I realized he was someone I knew last year as well, admittedly I didn't know him that well. I do my best to let my intuition carry the conversation and begin talking to him.

"It's Takasu-kun right? Do you still remember me? We've met a few times last year with Kitamura-kun." Takasu was also pretty popular, but for different reasons than Kitamura. He's known for being a troublemaker around school, with rumors that he mugs other students and even threatens some teachers. I was scared the first time I met him too, anyone I think would be. His eyes look as if he wants to kill you. Ignoring all of the rumors though, of all the times that I can remember meeting him he has always been talking with Kitamura. He doesn't seem to have a violent or hostile nature and I have never really seen Takasu do anything like punch another guy. I even asked Kitamura about him one day and he said that Takasu was just misunderstood, and that all of the rumors were there just because of his scary demeanor. It all made sense to me, so my fear of him was nonexistent when I saw him. Besides knowing that I knew hardly anything else about him. I assumed he was pretty good friends with Kitamura because a good number of times I've talked with Kitamura outside of softball practice he's been there with him. It was also a fair assumption that we would be sharing the same class, with him being here and school about to start. It was a good idea to start my first impressions with someone who had an idea who I was, especially if he was already friends with one of mine.

"Kushieda Minori-dono, right?" Takasu responded quietly as he shifted his head to the side. Poor guy must be shy around others. I don't really blame him though. If I didn't learn how to talk to people I would have probably been just like him right now. I begin to move the conversation forward.

"Oh wow, remembering my full name and everything! With the formalities too! I'm really happy!" I put in a good amount of cheer to make it known that I want get along well with him and he doesn't have to be afraid to talk. With the introductions out of the way and knowing that there wasn't that much time before school started, I wanted to see who else was in my class this year and make sure I got off on the right foot.

"Well then, lets enjoy our heartfelt and lively youth together this year!" I say that to the both of them running and laughing oddly to the classroom door soon after. I confess that that sentence was inspired if not taken directly from the conversation I had at the convenience store. Maybe my social side wasn't so original and witty as I had once thought. Either way it worked to get me to where I wanted to be, so I start to begin introductions with my new classmates.

It wasn't even a few minutes before my class and I heard a loud drop on the floor, followed by the gasps of other students from the hallway where I just was. Putting what just happened together there must have been a fight, and on the first day of school too! Out of excitement a good number students from my class (including me) rushed out to see what the source of the commotion was. I was amazed at who the culprits were. Takasu, who I just talked to moments ago, was laying back to the floor a few meters away, defeated. And the person standing above him was none other than Taiga! It took me a second to process the scene that my eyes saw. Around me I could hear the constant murmurs that stemmed from the best day one school gossip material available.

"Hey, did you see that!? The palmtop tiger just wrecked that delinquent! He didn't even stand a chance!" Says one of the groups of students with eyes glaring at Taiga.

"I thought that it was going to be the standoff between the tiger and him too! But the delinquent didn't even put up a fight! I guess the palmtop tiger is still the strongest out of everyone." Says another group walking away from the scene, not wanting to get involved I assume.

I began running toward Taiga to find out what exactly happened between her and Takasu. I wanted to help Takasu out as he did look pretty pathetic laying there, but I thought it best to leave it to a friend of his, or at least another guy, to help him out. It would have been a pretty bad source of rumors if everyone saw me help him up off the ground. I also couldn't leave my best friend just hanging there, even if she was probably the reason why this happened. I apologize a little bit to Takasu in my mind as I go past his helpless state and reach Taiga.

"Hey Taiga, what just happened!?" I ask her in a worried manner.

"Oh, good morning Minorin. Nothing happened really. This guy just got me upset, that's all." Taiga responded with a calm and relaxed tone, like if indeed nothing worth noting did happen. If there was one person that I could think of who would get into a fight on the first day of school, it would be her. Not knowing what to do, I do my best to try and get her into a calmer mood.

"Hey now Taiga, don't you think it's a little much to go and get into a fight on the first day of school? I mean, what if the teachers saw you do that? You can get into a lot of trouble!" I attempt to smile, but I could feel my nervousness from the tense situation push through my face. The face that a person gives where they are uncomfortable and are trying their best to make a better atmosphere.

"It was his fault for not watching where he was going. He pissed me off, just walking into me like I wasn't even there." The annoyance mixed in with the anger in her eyes could easily be seen by everyone watching. I honestly didn't expect to hear anything else besides something similar to what she said. Whenever she would get into a fight she would always get into a hostile frame of mind towards everyone, and it would be best to just leave her alone. In fact that's what most people did. Aisaka Taiga was known as the Palmtop Tiger for a reason. Even though she had a small frame and could be mistaken for a middle schooler, she would get angry and pick a fight with just about anybody if she didn't like them or if they made her upset. There have been a good number of fights involving her ever since last year and it looked just about everybody had gotten wind to steer clear of her. Well, except for Takasu it seemed. There hasn't been an incident with her in a while other than just maybe a frightened student running away from her. Left for a loss for words, I chuckle awkwardly and smile not knowing what else I could do to make the mood better. I then hear running from behind me and turn around to see Kitamura coming to Takasu's aid. It made sense I thought, with them talking just a little while ago.

"Hey Takasu! Are you ok?" Kitamura asks Takasu as he grabs him by the arm and yanks him off the floor. Takasu rubs his chin in pain as he makes his way on his feet, letting me know he got one of Taiga's famous uppercuts.

"I'm fine Kitamura, I'm fine." He replied back to Kitamura in a relaxed manner. For someone who just took a blow to the chin I would have expected to seen him a little angrier than that if the rumors had any merit to them. If he was a coward he would have gone off and ran away by now as well. The expression on his face didn't match any of those reactions, or any reaction I thought an average person would have. It was more of a look of shock and confusion than anything else. I guess he really didn't know who Taiga was after all. Kitamura turns his eyes to Taiga who was standing a few feet away from the both of them.

"Tell me Aisaka-san, what happened a few moments ago between you and Takasu-kun?" The seriousness in his face and voice alone was compelling enough to make anyone want to answer. There was no doubt that he picked up such authority from being in the student council. I take a quick look at Taiga to see how she would answer him.

"Y- yo- Yo Kit- Kitamu- ra-kun." She was stuttering a mumbled sentence while looking at the ground below her feet. It was ridiculous that of all times now she gets embarrassed over what she did. Probably because someone she knew well came to help Takasu. I've introduced them both to each other early last year, so they have a good understanding of each other. Not to mention that Kitamura confessed to Taiga around the end of 1st semester last year and on top of that Taiga rejected him. They didn't really talk much with Kitamura having softball and student council responsibilities, and with Taiga liking to go straight home as soon as school ended. But they knew each other well enough to be acquaintances at the least. But for it to go this far where Taiga would feel this disturbed was something else entirely. I bump Taiga in her arm with my shoulder to try and get her to talk to him.

"Hey Taiga! Go on, answer him already! Hurry!" I urgently whisper in her ear to encourage her to answer make this a less awkward situation for everyone.

"I'm talking with Kitamura-kun. I'm talking with Kitamura-kun on the first day of school. I'm talking with Kitamura-kun." She begins talking softly to herself with a dumbfounded look on her face. She stares into space while seeming to be oblivious to what goes on around her. I begin to ask myself just what on Earth is up with Taiga today. If it wasn't for her rejecting Kitamura last year, my girl's intuition would have told me that she has feelings for him! But that couldn't be the case, with what happened last year and everything. she doesn't even see him that often. Not only that but a crush wouldn't cause a girl to blunder this bad in front of someone.

"Excuse me Aisaka-san, is everything alright?" Kitamura asks her curiously, now with a puzzled look on his face similar to the one Takasu was giving. I look at Taiga again to see if she snapped out of her trance. She looked even more tensed up and ridiculous then she did just a second ago. Now it seemed like her mouth wasn't going to open to respond to him even if the entire school building started burning down around her. I step in and try my best to give a believable answer as to why Taiga was acting the way she was.

"It's aaallllll ok Kitamura-kun, don't worry about it. She texted me this morning saying she wasn't feeling well, so she's a bit out of it right now. Apparently she was so out of it that she accidentally hit Takasu-kun while trying to force her way to class right now! Ehehehehe." I stand in front of Taiga hiding her small body behind me as I embarrassingly try to give Kitamura an answer. The absurdity of the sentence I spoke to him was well seen by everybody and as well as me. Just because I knew how to talk with people to get them to be happy didn't mean that I was smart enough to think of a good enough answer to get out of a tight spot. The nervous laughter I gave at the end of it was the clear indication that I just wanted this moment to end already.

"I see... right." There was a massive amount of doubt in Kitamura's expression just like how anybody with a right mind should have had with a terrible answer like the one I gave. The look on his face than gave way to what looked like remorse. I had hoped that he wanted to drop everything seeing the pitiful state Taiga was in. Just as it looked like he was about to say something however our I saw our homeroom professor behind him hurriedly walking towards us. It came to my mind that class should have started by now, so in reality something like this was bound to happen. I tense up, realizing that we all have to make excuses for why we're all here.

"Hey now, just what on Earth is going on out here? I go and get to my classroom which is half empty on the first day of school, to find out from my students that are on time that the other half of them are outside in the hallway! Is there a fight going on? Go on, someone tell me." Yuri-sensei had a soft and stern aura emanating from her as only a teacher would be able to give. Practically everyone there looked away in shame from her, not wanting to get involved. There was a chance that this whole mess could get much worse if someone didn't start talking. If rumors got around that there were people involved in a fight on the first day of school, they had a pretty good chance of getting kicked off any kind of school activity they were in. This involved me, but Kitamura as well. It was especially worse for him because that kind of publicity would be devastating on his student council reputation. He knew that just as well; any look on his face that told me has was going to say something before was replaced with a seriousness the way a child gives when he's about to get scolded. With thing's looking bad, I desperately try to think of what I could say to get everyone out of here. I knew if I was the one who talked that would make me connected with the fight knowing how the school system worked. And that in turn could get me some serious trouble with my softball team. But I didn't really see any other way out of this.

As my heart races out of fear and anxiety, I began thinking of a plan of action. "Ok Minori, you can't tell the truth and say there was a fight because that would get Taiga and Takasu in trouble. You need to think of an excuse of why everyone's here. Think think. Um... you could say that Takasu tripped and fell down! That'll work! No but then Takasu might say it's not true or something. You're going to have to take the blame for this somehow. Be smarter! Alright... ok, I can say that I made Taiga angry somehow, and in turn she didn't look where she was going and she bu-"

"Excuse me Sensei, I'm sorry, I was the reason why everyone's here. I wasn't watching where I was going and that person over there got uncomfortable when I bumped into her and punched me down." Apparently I was beat to making an excuse for everyone. And it was Takasu of all people who spoke up, one of the people that would get in the most trouble for doing so. But he didn't even tell a lie, he just confidently spoke the truth! What is he crazy!? He's going to ruin it for everyone as well as himself!

"I- Is that so? Well then it really was a fight! We have to go the office and get this sorted out!" Yuri-sensei had an uncomfortable look in her eyes when Takasu approached her. This must be her first time talking with him then if she's not used to his threatening look. Takasu didn't know her name either by the look of it. It was strange because Yuri-sensei was one of the better known teachers of the school who would go out and actively talk with the students; with her just being a younger and more youthful teacher than everyone else. A good majority of students know her name even though they have never had a class with her at all. I guess Takasu didn't. But then again Takasu didn't know Taiga either so it made a bit of sense.

"It wasn't more of a fight as it was more of a misunderstanding. No one really threw any punches that were intended to do any harm. I didn't do anything to her and all she did was hit me once." Takasu replied with a seriousness in his voice that if I didn't know him any better, I would consider to be borderline threatening. I would imagine he's as earnest as possible but his delivery was just far too blunt that anyone would see it another way. It was clear that Yuri-sensei saw it differently than how I did. She looked far less confident than from when she first approached us. She was struggling just to barely maintain composure.

"Well al- alright then. If it wasn't a fight then I-I guess it's ok. But I mean she did hurt you so you should at the very least g-go and report that." She was halfway between nervous and terrified. Any presence of authority she had was completely gone as soon as Takasu began talking to her. It was astonishing just how well this was turning out so far. Could Takasu really get us all out of this mess? No way I thought, there's no way he could.

" It's ok really. Like I said before she was just startled when I bumped into her and it was just a natural reaction someone would have. It's not something someone should file a complaint for and I wouldn't want to do that in the first place anyway." He raised his hand to the back of his head the way a person gives when they're trying say what's right but they need time to think. I couldn't tell if Takasu was trying to be nice or if he was just trying to be as honest with himself as possible. It was hard enough trying to read past his "I'm going to kill you" look.

"Eeek! Hehe alright then I guess then there is nothing really going on here after all then! I mean if you don't want to bring up anything then I guess everything's fine! R-right?" Yuri-sensei backed away instantly as soon as Takasu raised up his arm. She was so terrified of Takasu that she backed down from her position as a teacher and was more of a scared little girl at this point. The nerves that everyone built up were relieved as well. I didn't believe that this was working! Just then Kitamura joined in with a question of his own.

"Excuse me Yuri-sensei, but I believe it's about time that everyone of us got back to class. If everyone was still here when the tardy bell rings than it would look bad on our records on the first day of school. Wouldn't you agree?" Kitamura took full advantage of the situation to manipulate the conversation and save everyone from a lot of trouble. He's always been a bright guy and this was just one of the many actions that showed he was. It also took a little a bit of craftiness as well as wit to pull off what he just did. Nice job Kitamura!

"Oh yes right right! Come on now everyone, you should make your way to your homeroom classes before you get into any more trouble. I'm sure your teachers will be very concerned! As for my students you won't be marked late as long as you hurry in before I take roll!" Yuri-sensei easily went along with what Kitamura said to avoid her fearful situation. It didn't seem she was thinking clearly, with her panicked and relieved way of speech.

And with that said all of the students started heading back to their classes with a weight off their shoulders. It was amazing that it all ended up so smoothly! I was positive it would have ended up much worse than it did. I bring my hand to my chest and breathe, feeling the beats of my still racing heart. I look at Kitamura who is receiving all kinds of praise from different people for getting them out of trouble. Next to him, I could see Takasu smirk slightly as he turns around and makes his way towards class. What a strange type of person he is. It's true that if Kitamura hadn't intervened than we wouldn't be all heading to class, but with that said if Takasu hadn't spoken the ridiculously truthful words he told than we'd all be in a really deep problem. Kitamura couldn't have done anything if it wasn't for Takasu. It was clear that Takasu's harsh look helped him a lot, in fact I don't think it would have worked if another person had said what he did. But for him to actually go on and say all that without any hesitation was definitely something a lot of people wouldn't have done. I knew if I had spoken up before him I couldn't have done what he did. I would have probably made things worse now that I thought about it.

"Yeah, there's no way I could have made things better in that spot." I thought to myself. "I would have just complicated things and made it worse for everyone. I would have made everyone more upset... no, but it's ok. Everyone turned out happy in the end." I look at the back of Takasu's head as he makes his way for the classroom door. "I misjudged you. Good job, Takasu-kun!"

I turn around to see how Taiga is doing. Surely after all that has happened she should have something to say, not to mention that she has to get to her classroom as well. I was greeted with a face of searing anger as she leers over in Kitamura's direction, just as he was being surrounded by other girls wanting to talk to him. Taiga was gritting her teeth and clenching her fist with a presence that would make anyone afraid for their well being. Taiga was a hostile person, no doubt about it, but this was just getting crazy. What on Earth happened with Taiga break? Not wanting another fight to cope with, I try and start a talk with her to hopefully lighten the mood, yet again.

"Hey um, Taiga, isn't it about time we all head back to class? Come on, you should head back to yours too." I didn't know how to deal with people that were already angry or upset to begin with. The smiles and expression were there in my face as usual, except it was alongside a good dose of hesitation and meekness that hopefully wasn't showing through. I knew Taiga was known for getting angry at others but she's never shown it around me before. This was definitely a first for me.

"Those damn dogs in heat, all going for Kitamura-kun like they deserve him or something!" Taiga muttered her sentence beneath a diabolical air. Taiga's anger was flowing out of her as if she was a tiger roaring at it's prey. I don't think she listened to a word I said either, her eyes were clearly focused on one thing only. The apparent death of those girls over there. There was no way that this was going to happen again after we barely just got out of the last problem. Panicking, I desperately try and get Taiga's attention.

"Hey, Taiga! Are you listening? Hurry, we got to get to class!" I position myself directly in front of Taiga's vision to make sure she notices me. Being so close to her while she was this angry was nerve racking, even if she was my best friend.

"It's alright Minorin, my class is just up the hall." Her voice was so sinister it sent chills up my spine. "I just have to punish these dogs and let them know their place first. …. Graaaah!" Just as soon as she finished her sentence, she went around me and dashed straight forward for her prey. On instinct, I leapt towards her backside and grabbed her small body by her waist, lifting her up to stop her. While I held her in the air, she thrashed around and made grunts showing she was serious on the destruction of those dogs, er, girls. This was so much out of my comfort zone that I just started saying excuses for her to stop, all the while terrified about what I was doing to Taiga.

"Stop Taiga! Yuri-sensei just went in her classroom seconds ago and is bound to come out if you start something! Don't get in trouble on the first day!" My panicked tone of voice led me to believe that I had just an equally desperate expression on my face. At the same trying to keep my body planted on the ground while holding back Taiga was more than challenging.

"Let go Minorin! It'll only take a few moments to get those tramps off of Kitamura-kun!" It was pretty clear to me that getting in trouble was the least of her concerns as she practically shouts in my ear. My head was pacing for something to say that would get her to calm down. Before I knew it words had started slipping out by themselves.

"Taiga did you know that a bunch of stress is related to a short life!? You're gonna get a lot of wrinkles too! Did you know that anger causes hair loss!? " I hoped that one of the things I was saying to her would get her to stop, but it wasn't looking good as she continued to thrash around, slowly breaking my hold. I began to get scared. " umm... Right! A person shouldn't get angry this early in the morning! It's bad for your health! It makes it easier for you to get sick! Aren't you already sick Taiga!? Think of what will happen to you if you don't stop! You could get high blood pressure when you're older! You can get even more sick right now! And then we'll have to get the medical department over like I told you befo- …. eh?" Taiga's fuse started to disappear before I could finish my sentence. She was almost lifeless in my arms. Did something I say work? Did I actually convince her? Yes! Way to go Minori! You actually stopped something bad from happening! While I was basking in my own praise I noticed it was awfully quiet all of a sudden. I look past Taiga who I'm still carrying in front of me to see the questioning stares of Kitamura and all of his admirers.

"Err, Aisaka-san, Kushieda, is everything alright between you two over there?" Kitamura gave a half embarrassed expression as he said his question, as if he felt sorry for me and Taiga being in this position having so many blank stares on us. I then felt a massive shock of discomfort go through Taiga like lightning through a lightning rod. That combined with the eyes of everyone watching me in this awkward spot had me embarrassed and uncomfortable to no end.

"Oh don't mind us Kitamura-kun! We're just having a little best friend reunion! You see, I missed Taiga sooooo much that I just wanted to give her a great big hug! It wouldn't have been right to do so when everyone was here when the fight happened, so I waited til after to show her how much I missed her! Isn't that right Taiga!?" All of my emotions combined were in that frantic embarrassment of a reply. I waved Taiga around like a rag doll in my arms with my reply to make it more believable that we were just playing around to them, because I knew I sure wasn't convincing them with my professional tone of voice. Taiga was still dead weight in my arms, not moving a muscle at all. I only imagined how ridiculous this must have looked to all of them watching. "Ahh Taiga, you're so happy that you're embarrassed and can't say anything! But its ok, I can tell how much you've missed me anyway! I've missed you too!" I began to close my eyes and rub our cheeks together together joyfully, to one make a more believable story, and two because I couldn't look them in the face anymore being this embarrassed.

"(chuckle) alright then. Just make sure you both finish and get to class on time. You heard what Yuri-sensei said. I believe she's taking roll right now. If we don't get going we'll be marked late Kusheida. I'm going to start heading back now. I'll see you guys later, goodbye." Kitamura turned around and headed towards the 2-C door as he finished his sentence, followed by everyone else making their way as well. I stand in place for a moment to try to understand how fast the heat was off of Taiga and I. If there was one thing that Kitamura was good at it was reading a situation. He transitioned that entire scene to make me and Taiga look not as terrible as we could have been, and got everyone of our backs as well. What a good friend he's been.

"You got it Kitamura-kun! I'll cya in a bit!" I say one last line to him as he walks through the classroom door. I put all of my effort into making myself seem as normal as possible to him. As soon as he was out of the hallway I dropped my act with a massive relief.

With time shorty running out, I let Taiga down and prepare to say my farewells to her. If I was calm and collected when I first entered the school, then I certainly wasn't right now. I didn't even know how I would make it through class. But at the very least I knew I should start with a proper goodbye to my best friend, the one person I could be the most comfortable around. It was strange considering that pretty much everything bad was caused by her, but she was undoubtedly the person I was the most relaxed around. She just wasn't a few moments ago, that was all. Trying to be the most natural I could be, I get ready to talk.

"Thank goodness, it's over. It was a little scary at times, but nothing went wrong. Wouldn't you say Taiga?" I waited a little while for her to respond, only to be met with silence from her as she stares down the hallway. Just what is she doing!? I could never get angry at my best friend but this was just dumb! She could at least turn around and look at me when I talk to her! I became fed up and dashed in front of her, putting my hands on her shoulders and shaking her for attention. "Taiga what's going on with you today!? You're just starting fights and blanking out for no reason! Do you even realize were going to be late for class!? What's your homeroom!? I'll carry you to class if that's what it takes!" As I talk directly in front of Taiga's face I could see her blank stare passing right through me into nowhere. She was completely oblivious right now, as if she didn't want to see what was going on around her. What could be more important to her right now!? After a few seconds I heard a response in a meek and scared voice.

"... Class 2-C..."

"... EEHHH!?"

* * *

_Seeing the character Minori have a hinted hidden personality that wasn't explored in depth was the fuel that led to me writing this fanfiction. With the anime fairly old and outdated I had decided to start from the very beginning instead of at a certain plot point. Doing this is difficult for me as I have to reintroduce characters and settings by my own interpretation instead of on the anime. However it is enjoyable being able to have the freedom to rewrite some of favorite scenes from the show. I realize that the length of my chapters and how I chose to base my story will drive off a fair amount of people. That being said I ask that any reader read my story for what it is worth. At the end of the day this fanfiction is a side hobby and I have had great pleasure in being able to write this. If any of you out there can enjoy reading this as much as I enjoyed writing it, then I can say I did what I set out to achieve. In addition, I am asking anyone with any artistic talent aid me in drawing a cover for this story. If any of you are interested please send me a personal message on the fanfiction website. Thank you._


	2. Some Things Change In Life

Chapter 2: Some Things Change In Life

"Alright everyone, we'll stop class here for today. For those of you who haven't handed in your future career forms, make sure you stop by the staff room." Yuri-sensei's words were music to my ears. School had finally ended and I began to look forward to having a nice, normal time at work. I never imagined today could be as hectic as it was, but I somehow managed to make it through.

The whole school day was nothing but nonstop gossip about the fight with Taiga and Ryuuji. My nerves were shot and I ended up talking with Taiga the entire time. Any plans I had on making new friends were gone, and replaced with the one goal of not being a dunce in front of everyone. It was impossible to start a conversation without messing up, and the only thing that anyone would want to talk about anyway was "how the palmtop tiger put down the delinquent". If Taiga wasn't there for me to rely on I would've just broke down. Thankfully luck made it out so we ended up in the same class, and I got the chance to talk to her like normal after such a long break. The day wasn't what I had in mind, but I wound up with a smile at the very end. After all, my best friend was just a few meters away from me.

There was a light atmosphere as my classmates started to get up to talk with their friends; I followed suit and went by Taiga's side. She was slumped over her desk, blowing her nose into some cheap tissues we got at the nurse's office. She was probably looking forward to going home and watching TV or something. She never really liked to talk to other people and I doubt she wanted to stay here much longer.

"Are you alright Taiga? You look a lot more pale than you did when class started." I ask her as I knelt down so that we met eye level on her desk. I bring my hand to her forehead to check if she had gotten worse and came down with a fever. It didn't seem like it; she was mildly warm despite her bleak expression.

"I'm ok... it's just that my nose keeps running and I keep sneezing a lot." Taiga answered me back in a tired tone. She definitely looked awful with her droopy eyes and low hanging face.

"Oh, that's terrible. You didn't look this bad at all before. It must have gotten worse over time." I pass her a tissue as she tossed her used one behind her.

"Yeah, I guess so." Her sulking voice was enough to put a smile on anyone.

"Hmmmmm, I wonder who it was that told you not to get into a fight before. Maybe if we'd listen to her you wouldn't have gotten this sick. Yeah, she must have been someone really smart."

"Minorin you idiot." She took a friendly jab at me as she brought her tissue up to her nose. I smiled.

"Ehehehe. I told you so! You know these things always happen when you start something! Hey now, how many times did I tell you last year to not do this sort of thing?" I did my best to sound like a nagging big sister. I pout my lips and turn my head to the side to make the joke more obvious.

"But I couldn't help it *AH CHOO* that moron got me too angry that I just had to. Everyone lets me go by but that guy was rude and didn't get out of the way."

"Eh, but didn't Takasu-kun already say that he wasn't watching where he was going? I mean, he couldn't have been rude if he didn't see you." I tried to convince her a little that Takasu wasn't all bad. He seemed nice enough.

"Minorin, everyone sees me. There are people who notice me when they're busy talking with their friends and they always get out of the way. There are even people that just look at me with one of their dumb faces and go back to doing whatever. There was no way that guy didn't know I was there. No, he must have done it on purpose." She said her words in a hostile manner. Dang it, she was starting to get angry again. I could tell even if there was a tissue covering half of her face. You're so stupid Minori, you should have never brought up Takasu. Why did you even think that was a good idea?

Taiga took a glance to her left and was almost trance like for a few moments. She's been doing that a lot lately; first spacing out after the fight and now this. Wanting to see what she was so mesmerized about I took the moment to question her.

"You okay Taiga?" I asked her earnestly. She was startled a bit coming out of her blank stare.

"Yeah yeah, I'm fine." She replied softly. She began to look down at her desk while twiddling her fingers around, like she was anxious for something. What did she look at? I take a quick peek to where Taiga was glancing at moments before. Strange, no ones there except Takasu sitting in his desk. He's just talking with Kitamura. Why was Taiga spacing out over Takasu? Oh no. Did she want to get revenge or something!? I had to get her mind off of him as soon as possible.

"Hey Taiga, there's still some time before I have to go to work. Can we hang out at your place? We can grab some sweets from the store next to your house and make up for lost time! I'll get you some orange juice, on me!" Even if it was an excuse I meant what I said to her. It was way too long since we did anything together like before.

I saw Taiga tense up and jerk a bit after I asked her. "No, I don't think it's a good idea if we went to my house. I haven't cleaned it in a long time and it's a lot worse than usual. I don't want you visiting it like that." Strange. Taiga never cared about the way her place was. There were sometimes when me and her would spend the day cleaning up the place while the radio was on. Why did she start caring all of a sudden?

"Really? In that case we can just go to my place and do something there. I don't have anything fancy like video games or anything, but we can still have a fun time." Taiga and I always went to her place because there just wasn't much to do at mine. I remembered the long nights we spent talking to each other about whatever came to mind, and I was sure she wanted to talk and catch up as well.

I'm sorry Minorin, I really can't. I promised the nurse I would check up with her after school to see if I was getting better or not." She replied back to me with in a muffled and low voice.

"What? But didn't we already go to the nurse's office at lunch? She said it wasn't that serious and all that you needed was to get some rest. I don't remember you guys talking about anything like that."

"I met the nurse before school in the morning. I went to her office right after the ceremony, it was why I showed up so late to class." Taiga spoke back calmly. Her story did make sense. The only reason we went to the nurse's office at lunch was because I was worried about her and forced her to. Still, she hated school. Something was off.

"Well, alright. But are you sure though? I mean, I won't have anymore free time this week with softball practice and work. I wanted to spend some time together since today's the only real day I have the chance to. Is the nurse's office really that important?" I was selfish, but to be honest the appointment wasn't as important as bonding with her. We were disconnected. Month's have passed and I could feel a space between us. I wanted that space to shrink, to go away, so that we could be close again. There was no way that she could have felt differently.

There was a pause before she ended up responding back to me. "... I'm sorry Minorin, I really am. But I have to go do this. I want to make a good impression this year instead of how last year turned out. It wouldn't be a good thing to just ditch the nurse when I agreed to go." Her words were soft-spoken, but painful. She would have never said what she just said and gone with me in a heartbeat. To think that she would care more about some dumb appointment than me... no, it didn't matter how jealous I felt about this. I would always support her in whatever choices she made. It's what a best friend would do.

"Okay. Well then lets go there together! It'll be the sendoff I need to prepare for the battle of the working world!" I was nervous that my feelings were getting through, so I made the sentence as goofy as I could possibly make it.

Taiga jumped a little bit in her seat. She lifted up her head in shock, which exposed a face with the weight of the world on its shoulders. "N-no, it's ok. The whole thing will take a while and I don't want to get you late for work." She replied back in a shaky voice.

"Don't worry Taiga it's ok! You know Jonny's isn't that far away from my place. I'll have plenty of time to grab my uniform and make it on time! Cmon, lets go!" I grabbed her hand to coax her into coming. She was stiff and didn't respond.

"No no don't. Minori I don't want to bother you this is something that I have to-"

"Oh don't be like that! How could this sort of thing bother me? Hurry, grab your stuff and lets start walk-"

"Minori! No! *gasp!*" Taiga snatched her hand back and yelled at me. My eyes barrel wide open as my mouth hangs ajar mid sentence. She... she yelled at me.

"...Taiga..."

"...I'm sorry. It's just that I want to do this myself. You have more important things to do than to go with me and I don't want you involved in something this small. Please understand, Minorin." Her words were gunshots piercing right through me. Everything I knew about Taiga was gone. From how clingy she was to me to how she was always so scared of being alone. All of it vanished with what she said to me. She... she didn't need me. She didn't want to be around me... No! No! Stop thinking Minori! Don't you dare let your best friend see you like this! Say something positive to her!

"No no no, it's perfectly fine! It was my fault for not understanding you before! I mean, just the idea of you becoming independent and getting things done like a pro makes me happy! Go for it Taiga!" I had to close my eyes and give my best smile while I talked to her. I couldn't have possibly looked at her straight in the face while telling a lie like that.

"... you're not mad at me or anything are you?"

"What? Don't be ridiculous, I would never get mad over something like this! It's not like we're never going to see each other again! We can just talk with each other during lunch tomorrow. And besides, there's always next week. We can still hang out next Monday! It'll be great!". What I said was aimed at me as well as Taiga, as a way to convince myself that everything would be ok.

" *sigh* What a relief. Thank you Minorin. I'm happy you're not upset." She gave me a smile at the end of her kind toned reply. I didn't need to be self-centered and drag my best friend from something important to her. I wasn't emotional. No, no I wasn't sad about this at all. I'm happy because Taiga's happy.

"No problem Taiga! Be a doer and go get stuff done! I'll leave you to your professionalism and follow your example at work! Let's give it our all!" Stay happy Minori. Stay. Happy.

" *chuckle* alright. I'll see you tommorow."

"You got it! Cya!" I managed to get to the door and wave a goodbye to Taiga. I searched for the plug to stop my disturbed heart from rupturing and shoved it as far as I could straight down. I just had to keep it in until I managed to get home and blow off a little steam somehow. I had done it before, and I knew I could do it now. I just had to keep in mind that everything was okay. I just had to keep walking, keep smiling, keep being me.

Step after step was just thought, after thought, after thought. "Why did Taiga not want to be around me? Did she hate me? Did she not want to be friends anymore?" The questions were never-ending. "Was it something I did? Did I annoy her? Why didn't you say you were sorry!? Of course she wouldn't want to be around you if you were like that!" My brain rewound the same kind of questions over and over again. All I was thinking about was her, and and every thing I thought about was painful.

"How could you make your best friend upset!? What kind of friend are you!? Why didn't you try and understand how she felt!? I gotta apologize to her. I'm gonna go apologize to her first thi-" I snapped back into reality in a second, as if on instinct. I took a moment to regain to my senses and see where I was. I caught myself looking at a door labeled _2E_. My condominium room door. I chuckle softly for a moment. I lost track of time. I didn't even have to pay attention to where I was going. Walking home was that much of a routine to me.

I go inside and rush to the bathroom, dumping my belongings by my bed along the way. I turn the sink faucet on and splash the frigid, rushing water on my face. The freezing sensation was great; I felt the heat of my skin numb cold with each pass of my hands. Everything slowed down a bit from my temperature to my brain. I grip the sides of the sink and lean over it, with my head a few centimeters away from the crashing of liquid on porcelain. The sounds of the gushing current slowed my breathing to a deep heavy panting. I was calming down.

My eyes met the mirror as I lifted my head. The girl in the reflection looked miserable. She had such a depressed frown that would make anyone uncomfortable. She had lost eyes that had no glimpse of joy in them at all. She looked so tired. She looked so sad. … I was sad.

"...Why are you sad!? What are you a weakling!? Stop being so pathetic! Stop feeling so sorry for yourself!" I yelled straight into the sinkhole, squeezing my eyelids shut tight. I started to hectically splash my face using every ounce of energy I had. I don't know long I kept at it. By the time I wore myself out my hair was soaked, my shirt was drenched, and the bathroom was filled top to bottom with patches of water. I stood in place a bit, with the sound of the faucet being my companion for the time. … I had to clean this up. Minori you're an idiot. You cause more harm than good.

Time passed in my trance like state as I fixed the mess I made and got ready for work. All of the down time I had was spent up, and before I knew it I was at the foot of my door, wearing my thin blue jacket and jeans and carrying my bag with my work clothes in it. The usual. I checked my cellphone. It read 4:58. Out the door by 5, get there by 5:30, and go from there. Like every other Monday. Right, today was just Monday. Just a regular, normal Monday.

I put my hand on the doorknob but stop before I turn the door open. I couldn't believe I was still doubting whether my feelings would get the best of me. I worked my muscles as hard as I could cleaning the bathroom to make sure my stupidity was buried. I even practiced in front of the mirror for a bit to make sure I could still be me. And still here I was, hand shaking and uncertain whether I could be normal at work tonight.

… *****THUUUD* I punched the front door out of sheer anger and defiance. the pain of the shock ringing down my wrist was somehow satisfying.

"Taiga is happy. Taiga is making decisions for herself. You have no right to be emotional. You have no right to feel this way." I make sure to say the words as clear and slow as possible. I wanted them to be cemented in my head. "You're not going to screw up. You're going to be yourself like you always are. You're not going to be emotional. You're going to be you." I took a few deep breaths in and out, feeling the beating of my pacing heart. I walk out the door shunning my thoughts; I had to get things done tonight. I hated how selfish I was.

"Excuse me miss, can I have another order of beer for the four of us?"

"Of course! 4 more rounds of beer for table 3, coming right up!" I addressed the group of customers quickly, with the usual smile and perkiness. I walked up to the table I was serving, tray of food in hand.

"And here you two are, the pork cutlet for the gentleman and the tossed salad for the young lady. Is there anything else I can get for the both of you tonight?"

"we're okay, thank you very much." The woman answered back kindly.

"Alright then. If you need anything call for me and I'll be on my way." I don't remember how many times I've said that exact phrase over the past year. It was far too many to recall.

"Sure. thank you Kushieda-san." The man spoke back sincerely.

"No problem. Enjoy your stay you two!" I wave farewell to the both of them and proceed back into the kitchen.

I had waited tables for a few hours now, in the same way I've done it for what seems like forever. I told myself in the beginning to focus on what I was doing instead of on school. But I wasn't paying attention at all to work, I couldn't. I didn't need to. Everything was off of memory. My mind would scramble in between when I would talk to a customer, making sure that I was still okay. I hated how I still had to deal with myself at my job, and I couldn't exactly punch a wall at Jonny's to get my mind off of it. It was excruciating. I headed back to table 3, carrying 4 mugs of beers in hand.

"And here we go, 4 tall mugs of beer! Enjoy!" I cheerfully said my sentence to the young middle aged group; 3 men and 1 woman all in business attire. Must have been a meeting, or maybe a get together after work.

"Thank you miss. I don't think I've ever quite met someone as energetic as you. It's a nice change from the more relaxed servers we usually get at other restaurants." The man said his words in a kind and respectful voice. That matched with his luxurious suit made me feel rather out of place in my dainty maid outfit.

"Oh geez, thank you. But it's not that big of a deal. I'm just trying to make sure everyone is having a good time here, that's all."

The businesswoman leaned forward, elbows on the table while resting her chin on her hands."Well it seems like that's just whats been happening lately. You know, me and my colleagues came here because we heard this place had outstanding customer satisfaction. I can see why, all of these waitresses are just bustling with energy. I don't think anyone could not be happy in a place like this. And frankly, you're the brightest person that works here. How on Earth do you manage to be so bubbly?" She spoke to me in a soft yet authoritative voice, the kind of voice that you can tell has some serious presence behind it. No one around her even made a sound. She must have been in charge. And wherever they were working at it was someplace big.

"Oh no no, believe me I'm not anything that special. To be honest, I'm this way with just about everybody I meet. I'm probably a little strange I guess." I look away flustered, rubbing the back of my head. It was always embarrassing to hear something like that.

"My, you're even modest to boot. You must be pretty popular popular with the boys at your school. Tell me, do you get confessed to a lot?" I felt my face turn red in an instant. Who has the nerve to ask that to someone!? This lady is weird!

"W-What!? N-no I don't have the time for anything like that-I work at a lot of different places and softball practice takes up most of my free time-and no I just don't have that much experience with that! Ehehehe." I couldn't have been prepared for a reply if I tried. I goofed throughout the entire thing.

"Really now? Hmmm. At the very least you must have a secret admirer who's just head over heels for you. Hey, what if he's really cute?" Why did she sound so provocative when she said that!? J-just how am I supposed to respond to her!? "*Giggle* I'm joking, I'm just joking! My my my, you really are a good girl, getting all cute and flustered! Aren't you just adorable!" W-w-what!?

"E-erm, u-uum, uuh hey-"

"Oh my goodness, she's great! Hey men, I think we've found the restaurant we'll be coming to in this city! We don't even have to check out the other ones! What do you all think?"

"Yes ma'am."... All 3 of the men just responded in unison. Who were these people!?

"Alright then it's settled. I can't believe we found a place this perfect. I'm sorry we took time away from your work miss... Kushieda-san, was it not?" I couldn't believe how fast she went from a casual to a professional tone of voice.

"...! R-right! Kushieda. Kushieda Minori."

"So... Kushieda Minori. I get the feeling we'll be seeing each other again sometime. *chuckle*. Thank you for your time. You can go ahead and continue to work now." … sure, okay then... snap out of it! Back to being you!

"Okay then! Enjoy your stay at Jonny's!

"Keep spreading that good cheer Kushieda!" She gave me a great big grin as I walked away from the table. Wow, what a sincere smile. Almost makes me a little happy inside.

I was dumfounded by what just happened. Something like that had never happened with all the time I had worked here. I had gotten into a better mood; the only thing I had in my head at the moment was that lady and her bright smile. It was just something about seeing that made me feel really good... Oh my gosh. I made her happy. Minori you're an idiot. How could you forget something so important?

It was a crashing revelation. I spent so much time obsessing over my own sentiments that I forgot what always made me happy in the first place. Everyone was cheerful but I was too selfish to see that. I was insensitive and thought of myself first instead of others. I wanted to punch myself straight in the jaw. I payed all of my attention to my tables from then on, making sure that they had the best time they could have possibly had at dinner. It didn't matter if everything was a routine. What mattered was that that routine did something important.

It was later on in the night. I had dealt with work and I was a few feet away from the entrance to my condo building. I was exhausted. All of the drama I had put myself through took its toll on every inch of my body. I knew I just had to take care of a few more things and I could rest a bit. I walked up to the building mail box and opened my slot. Today was a Monday night, I had to do this.

I grabbed the mess of paper and attempt to sort it out. "Let's see... ads, ads, chainletter, ads, …. the bills. It's the beginning of April. Dang it." It didn't matter if I had enough money to pay for it, just the idea that hard earned money went towards a piece of paper in an envelope was infuriating. I guess that's what it meant to be an adult. I began thinking of all the jobs I took over the break and how long I had done this.

"... I'll give Haru and everyone a call soon. It's been a while since I've checked up on them." I couldn't think of money without thinking about them. I owed them after all. Shrugging that thought aside to when I had to get to it, I walk up the stairs and go through my condo door. I let out a bodily sigh and drop everything at my feet. The day had finally ended.

I spent the rest of the night doing the chores, cleaning up the place, and making dinner. The curry was done and the rice had some time before it had finished, so I went to go take a much needed shower. I stood underneath the showerhead for a while motionless, taking in what happened today. I was still thinking about Taiga. I didn't think I was emotional anymore, I was just thinking about how different she was. For her to not always want to spend time with me wasn't something I could get used to that quick. But I knew that I had to, for her sake. She was happy after all. I smiled faintly, letting the falling water wash me away.

I sat on my bed and took a look at my alarm clock. 11:47. "Taiga's probably asleep by now, no use trying to call her. I'll apologize to her at school tomorrow." In all honesty I didn't want to call her. It was pathetic, but I was still thinking back to when she yelled at me. I didn't even now how I could start talking to her tomorrow. How do I bring it up? I already told her I didn't care about it didn't I? If I bring it up she'll think I'm a liar and she might end up hating me more. And then we'll get even more separated and we won't be friends anymo-

*SMAAAACK* *CRASH* I grit my teeth and swung my arms at the closest thing I could hit. The next thing I realized was that my alarm was on the opposite wall of my bedroom. I saw some plastic bits next to it.

"Crud! I need that!" I rushed over to the little box, praying that the thing still worked. I desperately plug the cord in the socket. What a relief, it turned on. I breath a sigh of satisfaction. …. I was happy that I didn't ruin something really important. You shouldn't have done it in the first place! Why are you so stupid!? What is wrong with me!? I grip the sides of my head in frustration. I sat in that corner for a little while, not knowing what to do. I rose up and went to the kitchen, grabbed a bag of pudding I had been saving up from working at the supermarket, and went to go eat curled up in my bed. It was the best moment for junk food if I could ever think of one.

Each spoonful of caramel froze my brain with it's sweet flavor, at least for a brief moment. I indulged in it, letting the sugar do its wonder to numb my thinking. I began to say a phrase for each glob of pudding I ate. It started off simple. "Taiga is happy." *gulp*. Then I began to say things that were more hard to swallow. "Taiga is happy, happy doing things by herself." *gulp*. "Taiga is happy without you." *gulp* *gulp* *gulp*. Taiga can be happy without you." *gulp* *gulp*. I was drowning out the pain, one mouthful at a time.

"Taiga is getting things done by herself, without you." *gulp*. "Taiga is happy getting things done by herself, without you." *gulp*. "Taiga is happy without you." *gulp* *gulp*. Gotta think of something else. "Taiga is getting things done by herself." *gulp*. "Taiga is independent." *gulp*. "Taiga is happy being independent." *gulp*. "Taiga is independent, without you." *gulp* …. *gulp*. "Taiga is independent." *gulp*. "Taiga is independent." *gulp*. I began to repeat that over and over again.

"Taiga is independent." *gulp*. "Taiga is independent from you." *gulp*. "Taiga can be happy without you." *gulp* …. "Taiga is happy, independent." *gulp*. "Taiga is happy without you, she's independent." …. *gulp*. *breathe*. "Taiga is happy without you, she's independent." *breathe*. I did it. I accepted it. *sigh*, what a relief. I phase back into reality. It was 12:30. There were 6 empty pudding cups all around me… just another thing I had to get done.

With everything taken care of and with an empty conscious, I go use the bathroom before I head off to bed. I looked up at the mirror while washing my hands. I looked so serious. So gloomy. Not a single thing about me was fun. I smile faintly. At least it was better than being sad and helpless. I could control myself at least. And it wasn't like I would bring anyone down like this; no one would see this side of me anyway. I walk back to my room and snuggle up in my bed, mentally preparing for thing's I had to do the next day. There was one thing I kept repeating myself over and over in my head. Taiga was independent.

The next morning went by with the normal routine and softball practice. The only time Taiga and I would walk to school together was during Monday mornings when I was free. I wouldn't be able to apologize to her until class started, but before that I had to make sure I did my best during softball practice to make my team proud. I was feeling awful with all the pudding I ate last night, but thankfully we did laps and I managed to keep up with everyone somehow. Refreshed from the post-softball shower I leave the locker room and head towards homeroom. In the meantime I braced myself for the most important task I had to do today. "Just gotta say hi to her like normal, then bring it up smoothly." I think to myself and plan what I was going to say to her. I couldn't screw this up. "Just be natural Minori. Just be you." I walk up to the 2-C door.

I went inside to see Taiga once again resting using her arms as a pillow, her head face down motionless.

I walked up to her to greet her like always. "Good morning Taiga! Feeling better today?" She didn't respond back. I could hear the sound of heavy breathing through her arms. I try again, speaking a few inches away from her. "Hey Taiga? You there?" She slowly cranked her head towards my direction, unwilling to lift her head. It was the first time I'd ever seen Taiga with bags under her eyes; she loved to sleep. She looked dreadful.

"Good morning Minorin... …." She dazedly replied back, with her eyes slowly shutting back closed.

"Taiga what happened? Why are you so tired?"

"... nothing really. I just couldn't sleep last night for some reason." Her words were slow, and she paused before saying anything to me. As if she was too tired to say anything at all.

"So insomnia huh? That's weird. It's gotta have something to do with you being sick, right?" I speak back to her, concerned.

"Probably..." Now. Now was the moment I had to bring it up. Don't mess up.

"Hey Taiga about what happened yesterday."

"...?" She forced her eyes halfway open to look at me.

"... *breathe in* I'm Sorry! I'm sorry for getting you mad yesterday! I didn't apologize before like I should have and I'm sorry! Forgive me!" I bow over her desk with gritted teeth and shut eyes, like a child waiting to be punished. I didn't know how she was going to respond. I was nervous. I stayed bowed for a while, prepared for the worst from her.

"I forgive you." ….? I opened my eyes to see her going back to sleep. That was it?

"... You're not mad at me? I mean, I did something really stupid, and I was inconsiderate and-" She turned her head to the side, away from me.

"I'm not mad at you. I thought you were mad at me. I was the one who yelled at you." She said her words calmly.

"But no, it was my fault! I didn't see that I was getting you upset and I kept on doing it anyway and that was what got you mad so it's my fault!"

"Minorin really, it's ok. You were just being you. I wasn't mad at you at all. I would never be. Honest." Her voice changed tone; it sounded so kind, so considerate. I felt a massive presence lift itself off of me. I paused, taking in what she said to me.

"Thanks Taiga." I said it to her with a great big smile on my face. I was really happy. What a relief. Realizing that I wasn't myself at all, I rush to change the atmosphere. "Well, that's all done with! You know, those old sayings we hear from our elders are always true! The past isn't important, what matters is right now!" I raise my fist into the air. "The joy of our young lives!"

I heard Taiga give a faint, quiet laugh to herself. She was still looking away off to the side. "Hmm? Whats the matter?" I asked her curiously.

"No it's nothing, it's nothing. It's just that you still act the same way you did last year. Whenever you would get serious about something you would go back to being you really fast, like it'd never happen. I guess since it's been so long I kind of missed it."

"Oh." Taiga was the only friend that'd ever seen me that way. She was the one friend that I cared about enough to where I had to be real with her sometimes. The last thing that we seriously talked about was her da-, don't bring that up. Ever. "Hey, its no good thinking about old times! We got to look towards the future! Weren't you paying attention to what I just said?"

"*giggle* I'm glad you're still the same."

"Of course! I wouldn't change that much over a few months, I'll always have my fighting spirit! Yeah!" I proudly place my hands on my hips, boasting to the world my energy and enthusiasm.

"...eve- .. y.. ... .. ..sy …. … ..n't …. ….. me..." Taiga mumbled something underneath her breath. It was whisper like, I could barely hear a thing.

"? Tai-"

"Hey Minorin. I think I'm going to go the nurse's office during lunch today again. I'm not sick or anything, I'm just really tired. I don't think Yuri-sensei's gonna let me sleep in class either." She moved a bit in her seat, like she was trying to get comfortable and take a nap.

"Eh? bu-" I stop myself before I finish my sentence. "I see. Alright, make sure you get some good rest then! You know what they say about bad sleep and growth, right?" I teased my words to her. She moved her head swiftly to look at me with menacing eyes. It was great. "It's a joke, it's a joke! Don't look so mad, oh ferocious palmtop tiger~! hehe!"

"... You should get to your desk. Class is about to start."

"Roger! Try to pay attention with open eyes!" She groaned in response as I head towards my seat. I felt divided; I didn't know what I was feeling. I was happy that she forgave me, but there was something else alongside it, it was uncomfortable. I thought about it a little and came to a quick conclusion. I was still bothered by Taiga doing things without me. I shrug off my irrationalities and move on. Taiga was independent. She was happy. She had things she wanted to do. I think to myself for a moment.

"... I guess I should be a little independent too. I've got to make new friends after all. I can't just stick by Taiga all the time..." It felt like I was abandoning her, going off and doing my own thing. Taiga and I always used to be together. But now... she's different. She's changed a bit. She's happy. If she's happy then I'm happy. Now I just got to make sure everyone else is. This will be still be a great year.

About a week has passed since the day I apologized to Taiga. The whole class has gotten to know each other and our different quirks one way or another. I made sure to always answer speak up during class and be as goofy as possible; as a result people have gotten to know me pretty well. I've gotten to know a lot of the girls in class, some of the guys too. We've all gotten along, and we're comfortable just casually talking with each other. It was shaping up great.

All the while though Taiga was still in the back of my mind. We occasionally talked to each other during class, but we never got the chance to hang out like I always wanted to. I always had to work or go to softball practice, and she would be busy with something else as well. She seemed almost preoccupied whenever I was talking to her. She seemed so distant. I didn't even know half the time what she was doing during the day. She kept things to herself now. It hurt knowing that we had gotten to this point, that we were separated. But I knew it was for the best. I wouldn't do any good if I just barged in to her life and do something she didn't want me to do. It all came full circle yesterday though, when I was waiting for Taiga at the usual spot.

I was lost in thought for the time, a little happy that I would finally get the chance to talk to her, til I saw her walk up the road partnered up with Takasu! I couldn't believe it! All of those times she was busy last week must have been to meet with him! And being in a relationship with someone who you got into a fight with? It was incredible! When we had the chance to talk to each other that day she said it was just a coincidence, that they were neighbors and they walk down the same road. But I knew it was more than that. Taiga was never this close to anybody else. She was just too embarrassed to mention any of this to me, that's all. I wanted to congratulate her, to wish her the best of luck. But I let it slide for the moment, I didn't want to get her upset or anything when we finally had the chance to just walk to school like friends again. After school that day she said she was busy with something at the office and had to stay behind. I saluted her off, knowing full well what she was planning on doing. It all made so much sense. All of those times she went off by herself she wanted to find a happiness that I couldn't give her. I couldn't give it to her, but Takasu could. It was a bittersweet feeling, painful yet satisfying. I didn't know much at all about Takasu, or whether Taiga would be happy with him. But I knew that I would support Taiga through this no matter what. That's why I asked the both of them the next day to meet me at the roof at lunch.

While I was waiting for the both of them, I took the time to stare out past the fence into the clouds and think about everything. Was I really okay with this? Was I emotional? Was I sad? I asked myself those questions for a brief time, wanting to understand myself. The answer, shockingly, was no. I was happy for her. I really was. I knew that we were growing apart, and her dating Takasu would only make that worse, but that didn't mean anything anymore. Taiga didn't need me. She was independent. She was making decisions for herself. She was making herself as happy as she could possibly be. That gave me a feeling I hadn't quite experienced before. It must be what a mother feels when she sees her daughter go and get married, or something like that. A feeling of joy and peace, knowing that this is for the best, even if it is out of your control. It must have been an adult's happiness, or something like that I guess. But that was all I needed to give Takasu my blessing when both him and Taiga eventually came. I was natural as I could be, even striking a combat pose as a joke to fight Takasu. But it ended up the way I wanted it to. On my knees I bowed to the both of them, asking Takasu to bestow as much happiness as was humanly possible to Taiga. Knowing full well that the feelings of my best friend were now out of my control, I then told Takasu as seriously as I could that she was someone important to me and to never make her cry. And if he did, I would never forgive him. There was one person that came to mind when I said that, the one person that was close enough to Taiga that actually made her cry tears of pain. He was the worst scumbag I'd ever met. And I prayed that Takasu was nothing like him.

It was now the day after, Wednesday morning. Everyone had found out about Taiga and Takasu as a couple some way or another, and gossip abounded in the classroom. I sat in my desk, satisfied with what I had done yesterday. Taiga was happy, and I was happy that she was happy. It couldn't be any more perfect. I considered myself a little more grown up too, not being jealous over Taiga either. Things had changed a lot from how they were last year, but all in all the new school year was nothing to complain about. "Things change in life, but they change for the better." I started to feel really old all of a sudden, thinking of life sayings that I would hear from seniors at a nursery home. Embarrassed, I shorten my thinking span. "Taiga's happy, so I'm happy." Yeah that's better. A lot better.

Several minutes later I saw her come in through the classroom door. That's strange I thought. Taiga always comes to school pretty late. Class didn't start for about another 20 minutes. Wow, she's even waking up earlier now. How nice. We could actually talk a little now before school started. I quickly noticed something was off though, I think everyone did. She was the hotbed of discussion and all eyes were on her when she walked in. She slowly walked to the front of the class, where Yuri-sensei stands and lectures us. The air around her was heavy; like there was something almost diabolical about her. Oh no. She's mad. Really mad. She started clenching her fists, and her facial expression looked as if she was about to burst with the hatred of demons. My brain starts to rush thoughts in and out on impulse. "What was she mad about? Did someone make her angry? Was it me? What happened yesterday? No, she was with Takasu, she was happy yesterday. Why was she like this?" I was flabbergasted; I had no idea what was going on with my best friend. I braced myself for what was going to happen, the inevitable shout followed by a fit of blind rage. Nothing could have made me predict however the words that she would shout to the whole class.

"RYUUJI IS NOT A DELINQUEEEEEENNNNNTTTT!"

"T-? Taiga?"

* * *

_Author's thoughts:_

_When I was writing this chapter I had one specific goal in mind; to make it clear that Taiga meant the world to Minori. Every one that watched Toradora! would know this immediately, without question. But when I went back to re-watch the show I realized that, at least for the first few episodes, Minori and Taiga don't have that much of an in-depth relationship. A viewer can tell that the both of them are the best of friends,but the focus is clearly on Taiga and Ryuuji. Minori is just a support character, and she is best friends with Taiga just because she is. I feel that it is perfectly okay to have that in a visual medium like a show, but in something like a story I feel that characters need to have more depth and investment into them._

_With that idea fresh in my head I began working on a back story for both Minori and Taiga, filled with ideas like how they met and the drama they went through and their own personal backgrounds, etc and etc. It was about halfway through writing it, about 3000 words in, I realized that I had written about 5 pages of text and nothing had happened. Minori was still in a classroom thinking about her friend. Realizing that that was ridiculous and there shouldn't be a chapter where the story doesn't move forward, I ended up scrapping 2 weeks of time and rewrote my story. If it wasn't for that I would've finished writing a week ago, before the end of March._

_Either way when I finished his chapter I had gotten the feeling that Minori was borderline obsessive over her best friend. I wanted it to seem like she would be torn apart inside when Taiga separates from her, that Taiga meant everything to her. But at the same time I didn't want Minori to seem creepy and be like a stalker, just that she really cares about being close to Taiga. To be entirely honest I don't know if I succeeded. I don't think an author could ever really critique his/her own work. I can only hope what I wrote is entertaining and believable, and that I get what I wanted to across._

_The next chapter will be coming in roughly a month's time, just as with this one. However there will be an 'X' chapter written before it, a chapter written in another character's perspective within the same time frame. The chapter will be on Aisaka Taiga, and her actions and views that take place within the first week of school. It will be shorter compared to these and the rest of the chapters, and I want to be able to complete them in a quicker amount of time as well, say two weeks from when this chapter goes up. To anyone that may enjoy reading this, thank you. Helpful criticism and feedback is always welcome. Once again, thank you for your time._


	3. Some Things Change In Life (X): Taiga

Chapter 2x: Some Things Change In Life (Aisaka Taiga)

I had spent so many nights planning for the first day of school. Everything was ready. The envelope was perfect; not too girly but just enough to be attractive. My letter was rewritten so many times it had to have been flawless. Every word I would say to him was rehearsed, week after week after week. I had done everything to make sure I would be the girlfriend of the one person I loved. I would be the girlfriend of Yusaku Kitamura.

All during break I looked at every single picture I had took of him from last year. I was entranced. He was assertive yet kind. Gentle, but straightforward. He was amazing in every way. I imagined scenarios every day of me and him together; we would be with each other every day and he would take me out to eat and we would be happy together. It would be perfect. If I hadn't been so naive and had recognized my feelings before when he confessed to me then this would have been a reality. Realizing that I had done nothing during the break except fantasize about him, I decided to write him a letter saying how I really felt. Every passing day afterward I worked as hard as I could, preparing for the day when I would see him again.

And then the day came. I stared at 5 different drafts of my love letter, not knowing which one to pick. I read them out loud, trying to find the one that sounded the most attractive. Back and forth I kept at it until I heard my cellphone go off. It was surprising to see that Minori had sent me a text. We hadn't spoken to each other for a good amount of the break, even though she said she wanted to as much as possible when we still had school. The last words I heard from her was "sorry, something came up", and that was a long time ago. She probably got more jobs for some dumb reason.

I flipped my cellphone and glance through the message. It was Minori alright. No one could write a message so happy and strange. Idiot. Sending a text after you abandoned me like nothing ever happened. Now she cares when she has to see me again... whatever. She's still my friend I guess. She's probably waiting for me at the usual spot. …. Crap. I wasn't done picking out a letter that was good enough for Kitamura and I didn't think I would be for a while. Knowing there was no way I could go with Minori to school and ruin my efforts, I start thinking of an excuse I could tell her.

*AH CHOO* *sniff*

I told her I was too sick to go with her and that she should go without me. It wasn't technically a lie, but I wasn't really that bad in shape. I had a runny nose for about a week and could have easily met up with her if I wanted to. It didn't feel good to put her off, but there were more important things to do right now. Talking with Minori could wait until later.

I made it to school a few hours later, obsessing over every detail I had to do. I knew the student council had a meeting at lunch on the first day, so I would wait outside until it was finished and follow Kitamura to his classroom. Once I knew where it was I would go there after school when no one was there and look for a school bag. Kitamura was the vice president and he would always stay late getting work done. With every one else gone I would slip in, plant my love letter in his bag and slip right out. It was fail-proof. I rehearsed it in my thoughts a few times until someone had run into me. Annoyed by the guy's lack of manners I punched him, causing a big fuss and a wave of people to come by. I was shocked to see that Kitamura had come along to the scene too, suddenly asking me questions about what had happened. I was too shy to talk to him and made a fool of myself when trying to do so, stumbling over my own words over and over. It was obvious I couldn't give Kitamura a proper confession with the way I was, the letter would have to do. After the spectacle had died I saw Kitamura walking in the same classroom door my homeroom was in. A few seconds later I realized that he was in my class this year, and I stood in place in the hallway, speechless.

Class had ended later on in the day and I was getting ready to put my plan in motion. Having Kitamura in my own class was definitely nerve wracking, but it ultimately made things easier. I would just have to wait another hour or so in class until everyone had left, and put my letter in his bag like I rehearsed, simple as that.

Minori came to my desk a few minutes after our class was dismissed. It was a surprise to see that she had somehow managed to be in my class too, and the fact that she was was a pain in my neck the entire time. She had brought up the point of me being sick when the fight had happened and I spent the rest of the day trying to convince her that I was. We had gone to the nurse's office and everything and I had done my best to look as gloomy and pathetic as possible. I was even blowing my empty nose into some tissues, just to maintain the image. Minori was still a close friend even if she had let me down this break. I didn't want her to find out I had lied to her.

She talked with me for a bit in her usual way and I did my best to keep up my charade until she would eventually run off and do her own thing. I sneaked in a glance at Kitamura to make sure I knew where his seat was, just in case. The next thing I heard from Minori was that she wanted to actually hang out with me today. Today, of all days. She had about 2 months to make something happen during break and she chose the one day where I was busy with the most important thing ever. Moron. I thought of a lie to get me out of that tight spot, and I had to keep making more when she kept on insisting on it. I was frustrated but relieved when it seemed like she would finally stop. But then out of nowhere she grabs my arm and try's to force me to go with her, all the while having that ridiculous expression of hers! What was her problem!? Couldn't she take the hint that I had something to do by myself!? Why did she suddenly want to start caring about me now of all times!? Stop!

I saw Minori's face turn bleak as her smile quickly faded. Now what? …. I quickly realized that I had slipped up and yelled at her. Damn it. I apologized to her as she slowly backed up to her desk, reaching for her bag. She told me she wasn't mad at me and she looked happy enough for me to believe it, but something was definitely wrong. I wondered for a little bit as she waved goodbye and headed out the door, but soon snapped out of it to go back to what I was doing. Minori would be fine, she didn't need me. She proved that to me during vacation.

I had killed some time by the school vending machines until it was late enough that my classmates had gone home. I went inside and sure enough no one was there. However just by chance there happened to be two school bags, each on desks that were right next to each other. And they were both in the spot where Kitamura was standing after school. I desperately think back to exactly where Kitamura was standing, ignoring my feelings of anxiety. After a quick mental debate I chose the desk closest to me, confident that this was his seat. Just as I had planted my letter I heard footsteps approaching the room. Fearful that it was Kitamura I panicked and went inside the closest hiding spot there was, the class locker.

My nerves were collapsing as I saw the door open and anticipated the worst. To an uneventful sight it was just some guy I didn't know. He must have been the owner of the other bag. I rolled back out suppressing my girlish feelings with that of anger. I wanted him gone. He approached the two desks and to my dismay he had grabbed the bag I had put my letter in. Realizing that I had given my feelings for Kitamura to a complete stranger I began to fight him for it, however my embarrassment outweighed my bloodlust and he had ended up taking his bag, along with my love letter. But it was far from over. I knew I would I get that letter back no matter the cost; no one but Kitamura was going to read that.

I followed him after school to find that by some strange fate he lived in the house next to mine. It was convenient that I didn't have to go very far from home to break into his house, but it was by far more convenient that there was an entry way right across from my bedroom to his veranda. I grabbed my wooden sword and sat waiting on my bed, using my feelings of rage to keep me awake. I would wait until the middle of the night where he would be fast asleep, and scavenge the place for my letter. And if he happened to be awake I would make sure he wouldn't remember a thing.

It was 2 am and I went on my window and jumped onto his balcony. I was going to force the lock open but the imbecile left it unlocked to begin with. I went in and began to look around when sure enough a door opened and the letter thief emerged. I began to swing my sword at him with a violent hatred, knowing that if he wasn't unconscious by the time I was done a stranger would know that I loved Kitamura. I cornered him to the wall and prepared my felling blow when he blurted out that the love letter had been empty. I took in what he said and collapsed soon after, bombarded by my own embarrassment.

Feeling hungry I forced him to make me a meal as an apology for his theft. I ate as fast as I could showing a cold expression, I wanted to make it clear that he owed me the food to begin with. Afterward he brought up some sort of box for me to look at saying that having a crush on somebody wasn't embarrassing at all. I skimmed through the piles of notebooks and journals ignoring his stupid feelings of pride, until I came upon something interesting. In one of the journals was a 5 page mock letter titled "for Kushieda Minori." This loser has a crush on Minorin! How pathetic, she's way out his league! Hahaha!

Soon after I was left in a troublesome situation. This guy, Takasu Ryuuji he said his name was, knew that I liked Kitamura, and that alone was unforgivable. Worrying that he might gossip my affection for Kitamura I refused to leave, not knowing what else to do. Ryuuji then pleaded for me to go and brought up the point that he would help me be with Kitamura. I was dazed for a second by his sudden act of kindness. He must have been desperate for me to leave. I twisted his offer into a pledge of obedience as a pet, to obey every order I gave him like a dog. There wasn't any chance I would let him have his own will with him knowing my secret. He accepted like the good dog he was and I left soon after, thinking of what I can use my new found pet for. I would make him pay for making my life more difficult.

The following day I commanded him to come over and make me breakfast. He resisted at first, but as soon as I showed my temper he became a good puppy and did what was told of him. Every good pet needs to be disciplined. Still exhausted from how late I stayed last night I went back to bed for a nap. I awoke with a pleasing aroma hitting my nostrils, almost like the smell of freshly cooked rice. I rose up and went to the living room, knowing that my pet had made me food. But what I saw wasn't what I was expecting at all. The entire room had been cleaned spotless! All the piles of trash were gone and it smelled sort of nice and it just looked brighter for some reason! I looked at my kitchen to see Ryuuji with a stupid grin on his face, wearing an apron and cleaning some plates. I was trying to think of a reason he would be so nice as to go and do this, and I soon realized he was trying to get on my good side. He knew that I could rat him out to Minori at any point and he wanted to stop that from happening. I threw my pillow at him to show that I was still in control and went on to go eat my meal.

I spent the rest of the week training my dog and planning my next move to be with Kitamura. I became a regular at his house and his mom, Ya-chan, and I got along great. She's really nice and kind, unlike the good for nothing mongrel she lives with. All he ever does is complain and he takes forever to get anything done. I went to their home every day for all the meals I wanted, and the rest of the time I had my mutt own up to his promise and think of a plan to help me. If it wasn't for Minori he would've just abandoned me like everyone else. Thankfully I had him by the collar. He was going to repay me back no matter what.

The moron actually thought of a good plan for once and we talked about it the next Monday morning walking to school. He was complaining about something like usual but at least today was Monday and Minori would be waiting for me. Then I could get away from his stupidity if just for a moment. When I went up to her and she freaked out, saying that I was a couple with Ryuuji. I quickly explained that we just lived close to each other and we went off walking like normal. I snook in a tease to my dog and laughed a little to myself. No one would ever want a stupid puppy like him.

The school day had gone terribly. Every plan from P.E. to home ec. had messed up in some way and I hadn't gone Kitamura's attention at all. I spent the whole dang week rehearsing to actually talk to Kitamura but nothing was going right at all. But there was the final plan that wouldn't fail. I had made the best cookies possible during class and me and the dog spent the lunch looking for the prettiest bag to put them in. There was no way this was going to go bad. I prepared myself for the inevitable confession I had to make.

I walked into the classroom after school with my pet following close, ready to give my feelings to my biggest crush. But for some reason there was no one in class. I looked around but there was no sign of him anywhere. Ryuuji then saw him running off down the hallway stairs, and we started to both pursue him. I was frantic to make this my chance to make my dreams come true, and I put in every ounce of energy to catch up to him. I race down the stairs, but to my despair I felt my foot slip on the concrete step. My thoughts freeze in an instant as I try and understand what was about to happen. The only thing my brain had registered was one phrase. "Watch out!"

I drifted off for a moment but soon woke up, realizing I was being held by my dog on the floor of the stairs. He must have caught me as I was falling down. I looked around a bit to make sure I understood the situation, and I noticed the bag of cookies were out of sight. I asked Ryuuji where they went, and he said that they had went out the window when I tripped. I couldn't believe what he just said to me. All of that planning and work we did was for nothing. I sat there on the tile floor defeated. Ryuuji told me to stay here, saying the cookies might still be good and he would go get them. It wasn't like I was going to go anywhere with the way I was now.

He came back in a hurry, with a bag that looked like it had been swept clean of the dirt and dust it was covered in. He swept the bag again with his hand and gave it back to me. I opened it to see that all the cookies were crumbled and wrecked, to the point that they may have been the gravel the bag had landed on. I put my head down and confided in myself, realizing that nothing I could ever do could ever be right. Everything that went wrong today happened because I was a clutz. I ruined the basketball plan because I was a clutz and got hit with a basketball to the face. The home ec plan failed because I fell down while carrying a tray of cookies. And this had failed because I slipped on the stairs while running too fast. I was pathetic.

Out of nowhere Ryuuji grabbed the bag of broken cookies and reached in for some. I told him not to because they were no good and messed up but he did so anyway. He took a few bits and ate them, then he took the whole bag and poured it down his mouth, saying that it tasted amazing. That it was a shame that they were ruined and that Kitamura would have loved them. I didn't know what to say to him. His words were way too kind and I felt really happy that he said that. I guess he was a little nice after all. Yeah, just a nice little dog. It wasn't until later on at home that I realized he had lied about the cookies tasting good to make me feel better. That idiot. It worked too.

We had agreed to come up with another plan some other time and we went to school the next day, to be assaulted by the stares of our classmates. Ryuuji and I were petrified for a moment by the sudden attention, and then Minori came up to us and asked us to meet her on the roof. We were clueless to what was happening so we went along and met her. Minori did some weird mock fighting or something, and then she was on the floor begging Ryuuji to take care of me. Completely at a loss for words I began to look around, and saw that Kitamura had tailed us as well. He came forward and congratulated us, saying that he always saw something between me and Ryuuji. I took a second to comprehend that Kitamura saw me and Ryuuji as a couple. I then collapsed on the floor, out of massive disbelief.

Me and Ryuuji both went to the local restaurant to drown out our pain with food, having our crushes wish us good luck on being together. I refused to believe it even happened, that the most important people had gave their blessings for me and Ryuuji's relationship. They didn't understand our situation at all. They never understood anything at all. No one did. Ryuuji and I began to walk back home, where I stopped at a lamp post to repeatedly kick it to relieve the anger out of my system. How everyone would call me names like it didn't matter to me. How everyone would go and avoid me like I was the plague. How there was no one I could ever trust to confide in. Not Minori. Not Kitamura. Not my parents. No one!

I saw a leg come up and kick the pole alongside me. I looked to the side and saw that Ryuuji had started to vent his frustration too. "Mind if I join you?" he said. You idiot. Of course you can. At that point we started to scream our social problems to the night, echoing alongside the clatter of our shoes on metal. I shouted as loud as I could, and to my surprise Ryuuji shouted equally as loud, maybe with even more vigor than I had. Shouting things like how he hated being called a delinquent, that he hated how he looked the way he did, how no one understood him at all. Alongside all the screams and clatter I knew that he and I were similar in a lot of ways. Almost how like a pet takes after his master.

As I grew tired I understood that Ryuuji had done a lot for me. How in the past week he had given me the courage to actually go up to Kitamura and verbally confess to him, something that I would have never considered before. He cooked meals for me every day, he cleaned my house, and he supported me through all of these failed plans. He even went out his way to make me kind of happy. He was the best pet I could ever ask for. And he had already done his job in full. Knowing that I couldn't just leave his actions unrewarded I needed to repay him back somehow. I remembered his ridiculous letter to Minori and understood that that was what he really wanted.

It didn't take long at all to know what needed to be done. Minori believed that Ryuuji and I were dating so his shots with her were basically gone. If she understood that that wasn't true then Ryuuji would be in the clear again. I was going to do that and so much more for him. He would forever be indebted to me after this. But first I had to make it clear to Ryuuji to never talk to me again. If anyone saw us together again then more lies about us dating would pop up, and Minori would turn away from him. After my plan his chances with her would be perfect, and it was going to stay perfect for him if I had anything to say about it. I thought about it for a second, and I decided that Ryuuji was good enough for Minori. Ryuuji was kind enough and if I he had the guts to pull it off I was sure he can make something happen with her. They would be happy together and I would have done my fair share as a good owner. After tomorrow I wouldn't need a pet anymore, I would be happy with Kitamura. After tomorrow Ryuuji would be happy with Minori. After tomorrow there would be no more pets and masters, just two students getting what they always wished for. The pet's service has come to an end.

* * *

_Author's thoughts:_

_Not only was this chapter finished later than what I had aimed for, it was unfortunately rushed to allow enough time to write the true next chapter to this story. Unexpectedly I had less than a week of free nights to write this chapter and I was frustrated with the amount of time I allotted myself to complete it. The original concept was to have Taiga reminisce about her actions just before she entered the classroom at the end of chapter 2. But with the lack of time to create an interesting premise and setting I settled on having a chronological recap of the scenes of the anime. The end result is something that I feel serves it's purpose to give another character's perspective of a scenario, but ultimately is something I would change if given the opportunity. I'm considering rewriting this chapter at a later date, but for the time being it will have to do._

_The next chapter will be the first true interaction with Minori and Ryuuji, as well as some major interactions with Minori and Taiga as well. I would love to get it done by the end of this month if time was a kind mistress but I will not give this particular chapter a deadline at all. I do not intend to rush this chapter at all and hinder the developments between the characters. I feel I could do so in something like an X chapter, as to be fair the work is not part of the real timeline and I can do with omitting descriptions and such. But to do so in something as critical as this chapter would be ridiculous. _

_With all that said I apologize to all readers who were anticipating this chapter earlier than it was released. I also apologize if the quality is not to your liking. I hope that the next chapter can be enjoyable to those who follow this story, and please feel free to mock my professionalism if I don't have it released by the end of this month. As always comments and criticisms are always welcome. Thank you for your time._


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